Feeling Uncomfortable? Congratulations!

Have you ever just “Had a Day”? You know…everything you’d planned was in the toilet by 10am. Then you started asking yourself questions like, “Why am I doing this,” “Is what I’m doing even making a difference?” And then there’s, “I just invested money I don’t have — what was I thinking?”

And then you continue into The Entrepreneurial Death Spiral of Thought.

When this happened to me I used to ask friends and my husband what to do. But here was a big problem with this. They weren’t entrepreneurs and couldn’t relate – AT ALL.

Fast-forward a few years (yeah – I’m a slow learner at times). I decided to get help from a business coach who could talk me off the cliff and is farther along in his business journey than I am. AND who has a calm and objective view of what’s going on. Not only did he help me get over myself in times like this (and still does), he guided me toward my goals faster. And the money I invested in my coaching has paid me back ten fold.

Was it easy? No.

Do I still “Have Those Days”? Yes, but they are tempered with the right expectation and here it is:

Failure Is Not Final

Even though you may know this, intellectually; it boils down to just two things.

First, whenever we are starting something new, it’s important that we come from a place of learning and are comfortable with the learning experience. If we don’t and start seeking perfection or answers that no one can answer until the time comes, we put too much pressure on ourselves and become frustrated, stressed-out and hating life.

Second – if we chose to stay in our comfort zone — we aren’t growing. Personal and professional growth is uncomfortable. Period. And if we’re comfortable, it prevents us from taking the actions we need to fuel our growth (ask me how I know).

Remember, it won’t be perfect and may look rough around the edges at first. But when we embrace the discomfort of the learning, and give ourselves grace, we can actually enjoy the journey and become better leaders … better people and will actually achieve bigger goals sooner.

If you don’t believe me, think about when you were learning how to ride a bike or swim? Uncomfortable, yes, but freeing once you “took the plunge” and learned what you were doing.

Bottom Line: Feeling uncomfortable and failing along the way is just part of what you signed up for.

So it’s your choice. Embrace the discomfort of learning, give yourself some grace and achieve bigger goals than you could ever imagine? Or just stay in your comfort zone. If it’s the former, do something this week that stretches you – that makes you uncomfortable — and I will, too. Then share what you did in the comments below.

Oh yes…one more thing before you go.

You might be thinking – I thought Jan was a business coach. Why does she need help? Just like a lot of professions, the reality of what we do is that there is always someone who is farther down the path than we are. Otherwise, we would know everything! So, yes, I get coaching help every week and sometimes when I embark on a new project – I just don’t want to waste time and make mistakes if I don’t have to. I also believe that every entrepreneur needs coaching or mentoring to be more successful.

I also hope the experience I shared with you today will help you the next time you “Have A Day.”

Clients await, Jan

Special Event Announcement: If you’re in the Orland, FL area on April 20 and 21 and feel like it’s about time to change up the way you do things, come to our 2-day boot camp. It’s called: How To Add $100,000 To Your Income in 12 Months Or Less. It is hosted by my amazing, results-getting coach, Minesh Baxi (www.mbaxi.com) and I am one of the speakers/trainers, too. The best part is that it will be packed with information you can learn that day and put into practice the next. Here’s the link: to learn more about it and to register: http://mbaxi.com/sixfigure/aprilevent/. Would love to meet you there!

If you’re in Detroit , MI area on May 19 and 20, we will be repeating this amazing event.